Yahoo schedules updates to search ad platform

As Yahoo awaits approval of a final search deal with Microsoft, it's planning to release two updates to its search marketing platform, which will roll out sometime between January 19 and January 26.

The first update is a feature called Importing Campaigns, which will let advertisers migrate search campaigns created in Google's platform for use on Yahoo's search platform without the need for a new ad.

“We completely understand that advertisers will start off and create a campaign in Google, and we want to make it easy for them to take it from Google and bring it into Yahoo,” said David Pann, VP and GM of Yahoo search advertising.

The second tool, Network Distribution, lets advertisers buy across different Yahoo properties or affiliates, as well as across specific audiences, by tweaking ads slightly depending on the demographic. The tool will work across the search network.

“Advertisers are looking for ways to target those consumers,” Pann explained.

Once the Microsoft deal is approved, which is expected to happen this quarter, Yahoo will announce more updates to its search advertising platform, he added.